The most challenging task for a newly self employed individual is finding affordable health insurance that also provides quality coverage. Affordable health insurance is a real possibility if you know exactly what to look for and which self employed insurance companies to work with. In our experience, the most important element to consider is your expectations for insurance coverage needs.
For example, if you are young and in good health, you are not likely to require expensive self employed health insurance plans that provide a wide range of coverage from doctor office visits to the most extreme emergency care coverage. On the other hand, if you are older and in need of higher risk coverage, it may be more difficult to find low cost or inexpensive health care coverage if you are self employed.
Today, most health insurance websites offer a free quote feature so you can get an immediate sense for how much you will need to pay for health insurance as a self employed professional, business owner, or contract worker. Most free quote features will also allow you to view a variety of options for coverage - from personal self employed coverage to full family coverage. The most common companies - Kaiser Permanente, Anthem, Aetna, Blue Cross, etc. - are usually featured as providers so you can compare and contrast your options. Once you provide the necessary information - age, gender, etc. - these free quote websites will allow you to sort your options by price so you can see your options right away.
When I left my job to become self employed, my employer provided the necessary COBRA information. Although COBRA coverage is a nice benefit in California, it is not always cheap. To continue my coverage, I was going to have to pay nearly $400 per month to continue a basic HMO plan with Blue Shield. Since I am in good health and wanted to pay much less for the most essential benefits, I started looking online for low cost, affordable health insurance for the self employed. After visiting several websites that offer a free quote, I found a wide range of options for less than $100 that still provided quality health insurance coverage.
At the other end of the spectrum but still quite affordable for self employed health insurance, I found another plan called the $25 Copayment Plan. This plan does not have a high deductible, but does allow for $25 doctor visits. This health care plan is probably a better option for someone concerned about monthly doctor visits. These days, a visit to your primary care physician could run you fifty to one hundred dollars or more.
Just as an example, one plan I found had a $2700 individual deductible, no charge for prescription drugs, and an unlimited lifetime maximum benefit. This is an HMO plan but it should serve as a good example of what to expect. Affordable health insurance for the self employed is definitely available, though you do have to research and determine what’s best for your situation.